In the story of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, the knights decided to search for the grail separately, each knight finding his own path into the forest where the grail was thought to be located. You also have your own path.

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About Me

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Learning about the houses in astrology can be overwhelming for beginners. I hope that what follows will provide a good foundation for further study.

Let's start with the four angular houses. The first house can be described in one word: "Me." Similarly, the seventh house can be described in one word: "You." The fourth house: "Inside". The tenth house: "Outside". This is a gross oversimplification, but it's a good starting point.

The other eight houses provide support to the four listed above. For each angular house above, we want to count four houses counterclockwise from the angular house, and we want to count four houses clockwise from the angular house. I'll explain why later. The counterclockwise house describes what the angular house needs to operate, and the clockwise house describes what the result of the angular house's operation will be.

I'll use the seventh house as an example. The seventh house describes interaction with others. A prerequisite of interaction with others is communication, which is governed by the third house, the counterclockwise house from the seventh. Results of interaction with others include friendship and group activities, which are governed by the eleventh house, the clockwise house from the seventh.

Now, let's take the houses in order. The first house has a base meaning of "Me." Other first house topics include personality and the body.

The second house is the clockwise house of the tenth house ("Outside"), so it will describe results of what you do outside the home, which for most people is work. So the second house describes resources and possessions.

The third house is the counterclockwise house of the seventh house ("You"), so it will describe prerequisites for interaction with others. Thus, communication and moving around in the immediate environment.

The fourth house has a base meaning of "Inside"; specific topics are emotions (inside you) and the home.

The fifth house is the clockwise house of the first house ("Me"), and describes things that come out of you, for example, creative work and children.

The sixth house is the counterclockwise house of the tenth house ("Outside") and describes prerequisites for activities outside the home: daily work habits and health.

The seventh house has a base meaning of "You" and describes significant relationships, including enemies as well as life partners.

The eight house is the clockwise house of the fourth house. Results of activities inside can include sex and death. The traditional other meanings of shared resources derive from a composite of the seventh and second houses, which I'll discuss briefly later.

The ninth house is the counterclockwise house of the first house, and provides support for you in the form of philosophy, religion, and higher education.

The tenth house has a base meaning of "Outside". The main outside activity for most people is work and career, but the tenth house also describes reputation.

The eleventh house is the clockwise house of the seventh house ("You"), and describes the results of interactions with others: friendship and group activities.

The twelfth house is the counterclockwise house of the fourth house ("Inside") and describes prerequisites for harmony inside: fulfilling karma, and getting past limitations.

There are supplemental meanings given to the houses by combining the house relationships. For example, if you were to use the second house as a starting point, the eighth house is directly opposite and therefore has the same relation to it as the seventh house would have to the first. So a common meaning given to the eighth house is the resources (second house) of others (seventh house).

Finally, I'd like to thank Robert Corre for the idea of using the angular houses as a base.